


You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

by iwritesinsandtragedies



Category: Justified
Genre: AU, Ava - Freeform, Boyd - Freeform, Justified - Freeform, Multi, alternate 6.13, basically canon, i guess, raylan - Freeform, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 04:25:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3837019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritesinsandtragedies/pseuds/iwritesinsandtragedies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternative to 6.13. Spoilers. Sort of.</p><p>...</p><p>Raylan gets shot, Rachel goes after him, and Boyd plays nurse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd; please forgive my mistakes.
> 
> I listened to the Ruby Friedman Orchestra's version of You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive while writing this because its my favorite version and I wish they have used this for the scene before Raylan gets shot, but. Whatever. Too each their own. Maybe Elmore Leonard liked the other version better. (RIP.) 
> 
> This is half alternative, half canon. Not really sure. But...yeah. I ship Boyd/Raylan like whoa, but it just didn't feel right to totally make them together.
> 
> Here be spoilers.

The bullets hit him before he can even pull.

They sting his insides like straight whiskey, settling deep into his gut; the pain knocking him down on his ass. His breath is weak and shaky as he struggles to stay conscious, and the last thing he knows is Loretta looking down on him with something not far from disappointment in her eyes, the blue sky shining bright behind her, a deep orange beginning to settle deep in the horizon.

XxxX

"What about Crowder?" Rachel demands, her voice stern and almost motherly-like. Tim smirks at her, his signature move when he's got nothing but bullshit to speak for, and she sighs like she already knows.

"Well," he says, shrugging, "bastard started throwin' c4 at us, and we got the hell out. Only problem is, ain't nobody lookin' for Boyd. FBI's got a bulletin out for everybody's favorite Deputy Marshal."

He takes a long, drawn out drink from his coffee cup and lets his words sink in. If there wasn't hell to pay in the form of PR bullshit and paperwork, this whole thing would almost be funny; hell, it would probably be hilarious, considering the irony of the situation.

It started with Boyd and Raylan, Tim supposes, so its gotta end that way, so to speak.

"Damn it, Raylan," she sighs. She sits down beside him and places her head into her hands, eyes closed, breath hard and sharp.

"How'd you know that's who I was talkin' about?" He asks with no real sense behind it.

They both know why.

"Lucky guess," she says, raising her head to look at him. Her eyes are dark rimmed, her hair messy. Tim doesn't blame her. She's putting her damn job on the line for this.

"If it helps..."

"It won't. The only thing that could stop me from chasing after Raylan and stomping on that god damn hat of his is if he's got Boyd in handcuffs and is on the way to the precinct right now."

"Shame, then," Tim says, taking another drink of his coffee and shooing the pretty little waitress away, "cause he isn't. So. F'you wanna go after him, now's'the best time to start lookin'."

"Call Mullen." She says after a few moments of silence. Tim nods.

"We're going to get that son of a bitch."

XxxX

"Shit, Boyd, he ain't gon' make it. God damn, Raylan, we ain't got time for this!"

"Ava, darlin'; I think it best you go and rest for a little while. I'll watch over our dear friend here."

"Right. Okay," she says, and raises from the couch. "But we gotta leave tomorrow--"

"I know, baby. You just go lie down. Keep that gun with you." She nods and follows his orders, just like always.

Just like it should be.

Boyd listens for her footsteps, and draws his gun out quietly when he knows she's in the other room.

Raylan shifts.

Boyd waits.

XxxX

_"You doin' what now?"_

"Going after Raylan, sir," Rachel replies. She puts him on speaker and hands the phone to Tim.

_"You got a deathwish, Brooks?"_

"I should ask the same of Raylan."

" _Why do you say that? Besides all the other obvious reasons and whatnot."_

"Loretta Mccready says Ava Crowder took him, after he got shot a couple times by one of Markhams men."

" _Creepy young fella, got a knack for showin' his shit to everybody?"_

"That's the one."

" _Well, shit."_

"My thoughts exactly, sir," she says, turning left onto the highway. She sighs and takes the phone from Tim, pressing the little red button and ending the call.

"My thoughts exactly."

XxxX

"Tell me," Boyd whispers, so close to Raylan he can feel his breath hot on his neck.

"Tell me why I shouldn't end you right here and now, Raylan. Tell me."

Raylan doesn't respond. His eyes shift to the gun currently being held to his forehead; and he sighs, long and hard, like he expected this, like he knew this was what he would wake to.

"How'd you get out of the hospital?" He tries instead, and almost regrets it just 'cause of the look on Boyd's face when he asks it.

"Its called a loyal lady and a bullet proof vest--somethin' you should'a thought to be wearing right about now. Shit, Raylan, you really thought you'd make it out of this alive?"

"Nah," he says, grunting at the sudden burst of pain in his abdomen. It hurts to breathe, he realizes, and he clenches his jaw shut. He tries to raise himself up, unbuttoning his shirt in the process, but Boyd pushes him back down.

"Don't," Boyd whispers, setting his gun on the back of the couch. His tone is softer than before; softer than Raylan's ever heard from him.

He almost dislikes it, becoming so used to the hard, sharp, deep drawl of the Boyd Crowder he's come to know.

"What say you, Raylan Givens? Death by my hands, or sufferin' on that ugly god damn couch you on right now?" The soft tone is gone, replaced by the usual bravado. Raylan grins. It hurts.

"You can shoot me all you want," he mutters, "won't make a damn difference. S'always one way or the other. I'll just come after you once I'm better, if you don't."

They both know his threats are empty and pointless, seeing as how Raylan wasn't going to get out of this. He was going to die here, but somehow, he was okay with it.

They don't talk after that, really; nothing but small things leading to nowhere. He almost falls asleep to the sound of Boyd's voice.

A warm hand moves up his chest, lifts him up; unwraps his bandages and rewraps them. A caring voice whispers things to him he won't remember. The world starts fading after that, and eventually, everything turns black.

XxxX

They're halfway to Virginia when it happens.

Raylan says something too quiet for anyone to hear, (although Boyd thinks it was something along the lines of 'oh fuck') and then his head drops to the side and Boyd can't find a pulse.

They pull over into the woods and Ava gives him CPR until she can't breathe.

His body rolls down the hill and into the lake below.

XxxX

THREE MONTHS LATER

"They found him," is all Brooks has to say, and with a look that said fucking where from Art, she tells him.

They found him in the bottom of lake about twenty something miles northwest of Harlan, on account of somebody noticing a hat floating on top of the water.

"Dumb son of a bitch," Art mumbles. "Any idea--"

"Guesswork and piss poor PI's stuck on Boyd Crowder's trail is the best we got right now."

"Right. God, I never thought..."

"Yeah," she says, and turns on her heel.

XxxX

They don't talk about Raylan in Harlan County, Kentucky anymore. They don't talk about him in Florida, or Virginia, or anywhere else.

The only words spoken of him is from two criminals on the run with ten million dollars under their asses at all times.

"Well, my dear," Boyd mutters, staring at the stars. He's happy, finally--he got out. He's free.

"Hmm?" Ava replies.

"I only got one regret."

"What's that?" She says, turning to face him.

A small, sad smile appears on his face.

"He wouldn'a come with us, anyway," she assures him.

"Stubborn bastard, that Raylan Givens."

"Yeah."

XxxX

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
